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Newark, Delaware train-jumper receives serious shock

March 5, 2012

A man is being treated for electrical burns suffered when he climbed to the top of a freight train in Newark.

Police say the 24-year-old Newark resident trespassed onto the railroad tracks near Kells Park at about 4:30 Saturday morning. He climbed onto a Norfolk Southern freight train and came into contact with a high voltage line. The shock apparently knocked him unconscious, and he was lying on the tracks when he woke up.

Police say the man was able to walk back to his residence, and his roommates drove him to Christiana Hospital. He was then transferred to Crozer Chester Medical Center in Delaware County, Pennsylvania for treatment of burns to his face, neck, and other parts of his body. The man’s injuries are not believed to be life-threatening. Overall, he has burns to about 35-percent of his body.

Police have not filed any charges as the investigation is continuing. The man was alone at the time, and it is not known why he climbed onto the train. Anyone who can assist in the probe is asked to call Newark Police at 1-302-366-7110 extension 434.

This was the most recent in a series of safety-related mishaps on railroad tracks in Newark. In February, a woman whose car became disabled on the tracks was pulled from her vehicle shortly before it was hit by a train. Last Friday morning, a man was struck and killed by a train as he was walking on the tracks near Pencader Plaza.